First Steps
by Maryanne Jarvey
Summary: Set immediately after A Change of Pace, Chase decides to surprise Melody by joining her on land. At the same time as his visit, Melody's coming-of-age birthday party bring guests from across the continent with special guests: The eldest sons of their kingdom, vying for Melody's love. With a stroke of luck, Chase will do his best to be the first to steal Melody's heart.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Melody sat in front of her mirror as she had been doing for over a half hour. She was trying to perfect her hair style. The ringlets Carlotta had left in her hair were not what she was used to. Melody loved her straight hair but for such an occasion it was appropriate for her hair to be curled. In other words, Ariel had demanded her hair be curled. So, after hours of arguing with her mother, hair tugging, and hair clips galore, Melody was desperately trying to find a way to leave half of her hair up and the other half down. She groaned as yet another clip fell to the floor.

Eric, having been instructed by Ariel to find their daughter, smiled sympathetically at Melody as he stood in her doorway. "Having some issues?"

Melody jumped but smiled when she saw her father. She was glad he was here considering that often times he was the parent she found herself turning to with her issues. She loved her mother but the two were far too similar with their personalities to prevent them from fighting. Eric had lost count of the amount of times he had to be the peace maker between Ariel and Melody.

"Just frustrated with this hair…" Melody explained. "I mean, I like it! Carlotta did a beautiful job! But it isn't me… And what if Chase-?"

"If you think he's really going to care that much about your hair," Eric interrupted, "then maybe we should ask your grandfather to make him stay home."

The princess immediately shut her mouth and let her hair fall free. She glared at her father as he smirked. "That's what I thought," Eric said.

Melody huffed and stood up. She fixed her dress, the one thing she had actually gotten a choice about. The dress fell to just past her ankles and flew out when she spun in it. She had avoided a bow in the back this time, knowing with her luck she would tie Sebastian into it again. Instead the emerald colored dress, the same color as her mother's tail, simply slipped over her head. After that she just needed to adjust herself by straightening out the "poofy" part of the dress, slip on her short cream colored heels, and then add her silver jewelry. Melody had gotten as far as adjusting her dress. She began to search for her shoes until her father called her name. She stood up straight and caught her shoes as her father tossed them. Melody smiled and thanked her father before putting on her earrings and necklace.

Melody took her father's arm when he offered it to her. She took a deep breath and began to head to the stairs. "Dad, are you sure Chase is ready for this?" Melody asked. The merman had only been on land for a month and his walking was still extremely shaky. He had yet to be introduced to the kingdom but the rumors that Princess Melody had a suitor had spread faster than the announcement of Eric and Ariel's wedding. While Melody and Chase were seeing each other daily, it wasn't for courting purposes. The two teenagers merely relaxed together while teaching Chase how to walk on his new legs. He was a terrible student which made Melody question her grandfather's judgment of Chase as the future ruler of Atlantica. Then again Chase's inability to maintain his balance gave Melody a good chuckle as well. She smiled to herself as she remembered Chase's first visit on land.

"_Surprise."_

_Melody's face was redder than her mother's hair and she was stammering like an idiot. "But you—I—This is-."_

_Chase laughed. "Different? Yeah, I know." There was a slight tinge to his cheeks as well but he remained calm, a lot better than Melody was handling everything anyways. "I was kinda hoping that you could lend me a pair of pants because these shorts your grandfather made aren't very… Suiting." Melody giggled and nodded before running back to the castle. When she returned she saw Chase balancing himself against a rock with a grimace on his face. _

"_How do you do this, Mel!?" Chase sat down in the sand with a huff. Melody walked over and directed him as to how to get into the pants she had grabbed from her father's closet while Chase hit behind a rock. She handed Chase a shirt only to receive a strange look._

"_What's this?" Chase held the shirt upside down, unable to understand it. Melody sighed and showed Chase how to his shirt on. _

"_It's called a shirt. On land you need these…" Melody grinned and quickly hugged Chase. "I've missed you…"_

_Chase smiled and wrapped his arms tightly around Melody. "I missed you too…" Those words truly weren't enough to describe how he had missed Melody. He counted down the days until her next visit and even then those planned trips were tentative. This longing for Melody eventually led to Chase begging King Triton to allow him to visit Melody for once._

_Melody pulled back and quickly kissed Chase on the cheek, laughing at his reddening face. "C'mon shy boy," she said. "Let's get you to Mom and Dad. I'll ask Carlotta to set you up in one of the rooms in the castle."_

Ariel, upon finally seeing her daughter and her husband, let out a heavy sigh. "Forty five minutes, Melody. Everyone has been waiting outside for close to an hour and-." She stopped, her eyes fixated on Melody's hair. "What did you do." Ariel began circling her daughter, examining every strand of hair as closely as possible.

Melody began to stammer. "Well, see, my neck was getting kind of hot because of how thick my hair is and I just wanted to move it out of the way a bit. You know, to help me and whatnot." She looked to her father for some form of advice or reassurance but in return the king merely shrugged and gave her a small smile.

Once Ariel had finished her path around her daughter she stopped in front of her. After a while a smile grew on her face. "It looks lovely…"

Melody beamed and hugged her mother. "It needed to be done… Thanks for understanding…" When she pulled away, she heard Eric clear his throat. The tiny cough was followed by a loud _THUD!_ and a string of mumbled words that could only be distinguished by few people, Melody included. "Will you excuse me?" Melody hurried towards the sound of the crash and giggled at seeing Chase helping himself up.

"Did it take your mom this long to get used to these leg things?" Chase huffed and slipped again, grabbing Melody's open hand for balance. "I mean, how can it possibly be this-?" Chase stopped as he finally got a full view of Melody. She smiled warmly at him and squeezed his hand. "Woah…"

Melody laughed and smacked Chase's arm, trying to divert the attention from her red face. "It really isn't that hard. Besides, you're escorting me in today so I can promise you that I will keep a tight hold of you." She beamed at him and fixed his tie. "Don't worry; I'll make sure you have no wardrobe malfunctions…" She let out a simultaneous chuckle with the blonde in front of her before offering her arm to him.

"No," Chase said. "Even I know that I'm the one who offers my arm." He switched up whose arm went where and smiled at his handy work. "There, that's better."

"Perfect. Now let's be on our way before Ariel loses her temper… Again." Eric grinned at the pair, avoiding the glare of his wife which he could just feel. After so many years of marriage, the couple could understand a simple change in body language or a change of pupil size determined what the other was feeling. Melody had grown accustomed to it. She already knew how her mother worked, she and her being so much alike. Her father had been more of a challenge but after figuring out how simple changes to his jaw meant different emotions, she always knew how something between her parents would end up. Most of the time it was a "lovey-dovey" sight as Melody called it, even though she loved knowing that her parents were still madly in love. At seeing this, however, Melody tugged on Chase, presuming a scolding was going to happen. "We should probably go get in line in the procession. Mom might strangle Dad if he says anything else the rest of the day…"

After helping Chase to his part in the line, making sure that the guests were ready, a couple of deep breaths for Ariel, another couple of deep breaths for Grimsby, Carlotta making sure that all of Max's tracks had been cleared from the floor, and the readjusting of both Ariel and Melody's tiaras, the royal court was finally ready to begin their first ball in over a year. And not just any ball, of course. This was Melody's coming-of-age ball. Though she hid it well, Melody was terrified at what the outcome of this would be. No one knew Chase was from the sea. No one had actually seen him at all; they had all just heard of him. Walking into the ballroom with a random boy who seemed to be bow legged with messy blonde hair-.

Messy blonde hair.

Grimsby pushed Melody lightly to keep the precession in order. She looked at Chase and saw the fear on his face. Melody frowned and before the door was opened to the ballroom she ran her fingers through Chase's hair a few times to smooth it out. He turned to her when she did so and smiled appreciatively. He went to kiss her on the cheek but the sound of doorknobs being turned snapped both of the teenagers back into reality.

Melody sighed. "I hate birthdays."

Chase laughed lightly, knowing exactly how she felt. What was even worse was that he knew who was behind these doors. Eric and Ariel had warned him of what Melody was afraid to tell him. These balls were so large because kings, queens, princes, and princesses from other kingdoms across the continent were all invited. In this particular event, the eldest sons were brought in order to do their best to woo Melody. Eric and Ariel didn't want this for their daughter, of course. They still felt she was far too young. But in the eyes of the other kingdoms the coming-of-age of a princess indicated that she was ready for marriage and the eldest son was soon ready to take the throne. These events were meant to go on for the next couple of weeks, just short of the amount of time Chase would be spending with the royal family.

And the thought that one of these permanent land dwellers could sweep Melody off of her feet, take her away, and bring her farther from the sea then she'd ever been, even farther then when the wall had been up?

Well it was his worst nightmare…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

After she was certain that everyone was gone and that everyone in the castle was asleep, Melody put on her pajama bottoms and shimmied her way down the makeshift rope she had made to get out of her balcony. She hopped off and landed neatly in the sand. This was her nightly ritual. Go out to the water to talk to Sebastian and sometimes Flounder (He was a busy father, after all.) The water calmed her and she was now doing her best to take it in as best as she could.

As Melody approached the water, she saw Sebastian and went to approach him but heard Chase talking. He sounded upset which confused her. He had done wonderfully that night! He danced better then he walked and his ability to act like he fit in with the snobby neighbor kids was impeccable. Worried and puzzled, Melody hid behind a rock and listened.

"I'm just worried that someone is gonna be better than me…" Chase explained. "I can't be on land all of the time and for all I know she might choose to live out her life primarily on land." Melody heard a quick, "Mon" from Sebastian which was cut off by Chase. "And lest we forget how good looking and put together those other guys were! I'm a wreck… She deserves someone so much better…"

The fury began to rise in her. Her hands became fists at her side and the image of beating Chase to a pulp seemed to flow through Melody's mind. She quietly stepped out from behind the rock and saw Sebastian's eyes grow wide. Chase's back was to her so she had an easy shot where her fist could collide with his skull. Sebastian's stammering and pointing snapped her out of the violent mood but still left her steaming.

"What're you looking at Sebastian…?" Chase turned around and locked eyes with Melody. His eyes grew wider then Sebastian's, though the crab had now scurried back into the sea. "Oh."

Melody shook her head at Chase. "Why? Why would you come to talk to Sebastian? Why couldn't you talk to me?" She was hurt now. Still angry but now hurt. Melody could have sworn that he trusted her with everything. She could have sworn that he knew that she wouldn't go off and have some extravagant wedding with a man from some foreign land. This place was her home. The area where the land and sea, both of her homes, met. She didn't plan on leaving anytime soon…

Chase walked towards her. "Mel, listen… I-I can explain." No he couldn't. He had no idea how to put his thoughts into words and the look on Melody's face said that she knew he couldn't explain it.

"Go back." She said sharply. Chase took a step back, startled by her statement. "If you don't trust me, then feel free to go back and start planning taking over the kingdom. I'm certain grandfather has a lot left to teach you. So go then."

Chase shook his head. "I don't want to go back… Not yet… It's not even truly your birthday yet. And I've got a day planned out for us…"

Melody laughed. "Chase, my birthday has already been planned for ages. I was _born_ and my eighteenth birthday was set for me." She began to count on her fingers. "Another ball the day of, cake, a line of boys that I need to dance with, people discussing things with my parents in regards to how their son would be best fit for me and our kingdom, Dad getting irritated with it all, Mom worrying about my feelings on it, and by the end of next week me picking a future husband whom I'll need to live happily ever after with."

Now Chase was angry. Melody had never been one to just melt into a role. No, Melody formed the role. She pushed edges in order to make things go her way and in the end, everything seemed to turn out even better than it had to begin with. "Melody, that's stupid and you know it." He grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him. She was tense in his arms, something he wasn't used to, but this was the only way she would listen. "The only thing about that statement that should be true is the cake part. You don't need to spend the day dancing with a bunch of guys or need to choose your husband by next week." He let out a sigh before walking away to begin pacing. "Listen Mel, we're in the same spot. Your grandfather wants me back the day after your birthday to begin making plans for when I take the throne. He wants a queen for me right away and within the next year he'll probably be requesting a kid from said queen and I."

Chase stopped and turned back to Melody. "What they forget to think about is what _we_ want. What you and I want. Mel, if you marry one of those guys, they're going to take you away from here. They'll take you away from me." He gently cupped her face in his hands. "And I'll be damned if I don't leave after your birthday kicking and screaming. _You_ are who I want Mel, not anyone else. I've got no idea how we're supposed to convince your family that we could make this work but I know we can. We can split up our time, land and the sea. We might need to split up our time from each other too while you take care of land issues and I take care of sea issues, but we can do it Melody. I know we can…"

She beamed at him and went to kiss him when she heard the sound of sand moving underneath feet. She brought her finger to her lips and went to hide in between some rocks, thankful that it was nighttime because the sun would easily give her away. Chase went to the water's edge and dipped his toes inside, wondering who would possibly be out and about this late at night.

"So you're the one she's in love with, huh?" Chase turned to be confronted by a man about six feet tall with dark hair and green eyes. He greeted Chase with a smirk and straightened himself. "What was your name again? Jace or something?"

Chase frowned and tried his best to make sure he didn't glare at person standing in front of him. "Chase. And who are you? Some prince who's here to steal Melody's heart or something?"

He chuckled and shrugged. "You could say that. My name's Richard. I'm from the kingdom on the other side of this stretch of ocean." Richard rolled his shoulders and crossed his arms. "And I didn't take a nearly two week boat ride to come here and be turned down by Melody. So I believe you and I might have a problem."

Chase furrowed his eyebrows at Richard. "Are you serious? Are you _threatening_ me because of Melody?" A clacking sound on rocks and a soft bump into the sand indicated to Chase that Sebastian was on the move. All the while, Richard shrugged and said, "I wouldn't say I'm threatening you. Merely warning you. You see, Melody is what I want and I _always_ get what I want, understand? I won't have some measly, messy blonde child in my way of winning her heart." He scoffed. "Besides, once she falls for me and moves to my kingdom, she'll realize that the sea isn't that important after all. The only good thing that came from this land tearing down their wall was that the trade between them and my home was reopened." He shook his head and muttered to himself, "What is her strange obsession with the sea about anyways?"

Chase bit his lip to stifle a laugh. If this man only knew why Melody was obsessed with the sea. Hell, she basically was the sea. Half of it, anyways. But this man wanted to take her away from it. He wanted to keep her on dry land and away from the family and friends she loved so much below the waves. Away from him…

"Nevertheless, she will be mine, Chase. After this week, she'll remember you fondly as her taste of puppy love." He smirked and tapped Chase on the nose. "G'night." With that, he turned on his heel and began to head back to the castle. Sebastian hurried after him as Chase ducked behind the rocks to search where Melody had gone. He laughed when he heard a strangled yelp come from Richard in the distance and continued his search.

"Hey Mel, can you believe that-?" He stopped when he noticed Melody was nowhere to be found. Chase stood up and followed footsteps in the sand with his eyes that led back to the castle. His eyes trailed up to Melody's balcony, where her rope now sat in a ball near the edge and her lights were out.

She hadn't heard a thing. For all Chase knew, she hadn't even seen who it was that had approached him. Not that that was a big deal or anything. All he needed to do was point out the guy within the next week, tell Melody everything he had said to him, and it would be fine.

When Sebastian came back, Chase couldn't help but grin at the look on his face. "Happy with yourself? Going around and clamping onto random prince's ankles and all?" Sebastian smiled and nodded before giving Chase a wave and diving back into the ocean. Chase waved until Sebastian was gone and then turned his attention back to Melody's balcony. He knew that as much as he wished she would come back out and kiss him without interruption, it wouldn't happen. So instead he opted to blow a kiss towards her window and head back inside himself.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Quick note, this chapter DOES contain a major loss.

Chapter 3

Melody sat quietly in her seat at breakfast, her toes tapping against the ground to some song that only she was able to hear. She stared at her food and pushed it around on her plate in an attempt to make it seem like she had eaten something. Unfortunately, Carlotta, now at an age where Eric and Ariel were begging her to retire and just live happily, had spent far too many years watching Melody's father do the same thing with his breakfast.

"I take offense to that, miss…" she said as she took a spot next to Melody. Melody's feet stopped tapping and she jumped, a smile forming on her face as she was greeted by Carlotta's warm features. Melody had always had a strong relationship with Carlotta. She was like another mother figure in Melody's life, or the grandmother that she never had. Their relationship had grown similar to how Eric's relationship with her had been as a small child. Carlotta was their rock when Ariel had miscarried many years ago due to the awful flu that had plagued their kingdom, and now she was silently asking to be Melody's rock in whatever predicament she had found herself in now.

"I'm sorry… I'm just not hungry today," Melody explained. "I didn't sleep too well and-." A chuckle from the woman next to her cut her off, causing Melody to cock her head to the side. "What's so funny?"

Carlotta chuckled again and shook her head. "I would think you didn't sleep well. You didn't climb back into your room and turn off the lights until close to midnight…" Melody's mouth fell open and she was stammering, trying to find a way to explain herself while Carlotta said, "I saw him down there. Chase that is. The things you see when you go to get a drink of water at night…"

Melody swallowed hard and nodded. She looked back at her food and hung her head. "I hate all of this… All of this stupid pomp and circumstance just for me to be tied down. I mean, neither of my parents had to do this! Mom just made sure he didn't drown, sang to him, boom! They're in love." She sighed and shook her head. "I want something simple like that. Something where I just _know_. Where I look at the person and think, 'Yep, that's who I want to see every day for the rest of my life.'" With a heavy sigh, Melody rested her forehead against the table.

Carlotta frowned and rubbed Melody's back. "Now you know that your parents were a lot more complicated than that. Besides, you haven't really spoken to anyone else and you have a week and a half still. It is highly likely that you just haven't met your prince yet."

Melody moved her head over and rested her head on Carlotta's shoulder. "I know it's crazy but I want to say I found my prince…" She shut her eyes tight and shook her head. "We could never work though. Things would easily be complicated for us." Carlotta wrapped an arm around her and held her close until they both heard a scream in the hallway. Melody jumped up with Carlotta and ran out of the kitchen in the direction of the scream.

Ariel was leaning against a wall, her hand over her mouth and tears pouring down her face. Eric was on his knees, Grimsby's head in his lap, his hands shaking ever so lightly as he searched for something on Grimsby's wrist. Melody felt the color drain from her face and saw Carlotta immediately rush to Eric's side. Eric shook his head, tears beginning to fall. "I can't find it…"

Melody began to panic. It was starting to get hard to breathe and she didn't understand why things were getting almost fuzzy. She knew what Eric couldn't find and when she heard him say "A pulse" her instinct was to hurry from the scene. As she left she heard more footsteps walking up, most likely the doctors that had been called. Someone muttered something about a heart attack but before she retrieved anymore information Melody ran. She had never been prepared to lose someone this close to her before. Her parents had gone through these types of losses with each of them losing one or both of their parents, but the only thing remotely close to this that Melody had dealt with was Ariel miscarrying.

Her thoughts were clouded as she attempted to get as far away from the scene as possible. She decided to go down to her favorite alcove off of the seashore, the area which her mother had brought her father after she had saved him. It was a safe place for all of them and right now she needed to be there. Melody passed her room, deciding to forego shoes and just head there in her pajamas. As she walked, she kept her eyes on the floor, a terrible mistake as she ran into someone.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry!" Melody said as she looked up to see who she had so rudely barged into. "I-I wasn't paying attention and-." The man before her bowed, something she wasn't used to when it came to people in passing. The only time people ever bowed or curtsied for her was when they were entering and exiting a ball. "Yo-you don't need to bow, you know."

The man nodded as he straightened himself out. "Where I'm from you must. It is proof of loyalty and respect, both of which I have for you Princess Melody." He smiled and continued, "I am Prince Richard from-."

Melody recognized the name from those she had studied before everyone had arrived. She wanted to know her guests before they came to her birthday celebrations and had therefore studied all of the information about them as best she could. "You're Prince Richard from Aerameth. That's quite a lengthy journey, about two weeks if I'm not mistaken?" She was rambling now, anything to take her mind off of the image of Grimsby and her parents that had just been placed into her head. The image was replaced ever so slightly by the confused look on Richard's face. She couldn't help but give him a small smile. "I like to know about my guests before they arrive. Only seems fair seeing as you know a lot about me before you get here."

The confusion left Richard's face as he laughed and nodded in agreement with Melody. "I suppose that is only fair, yes. It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person. You're even more radiant when there we're standing this close together rather than me watching you enjoy yourself from a balcony." He smiled warmly at her until he noticed the sadness in her eyes. "Do you mind me asking why you were almost running? Is everything alright?"

Melody frowned and shook her head. "I just saw something that I decided I needed to run from," she explained. "I'll probably get an earful about it later from my parents but for right now I just needed to get away from it." She smiled politely at him as he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and gave it a small squeeze as a gesture to let her know he was there for her. "Thank you for your concern. Now if you don't mind I-."

"Melody?" The voice echoed through the halls, getting closer to them. "Melody! Where are you?" Chase rounded the corner of the hallway, still in his own pajamas, to see Richard and Melody together. His mind went back to the conversation between the prince and himself from the night before and he couldn't help but get the slightest bit of jealousy upon seeing Richard's hand on Melody. While she may not have seen it, Chase viewed his hand as a possessive touch and he hated it. "Mel, I've been looking all over for you. I heard what happened…"

Richard scoffed at how Chase spoke to Melody, absolutely astonished at the fact that he got away with calling her by her first name. He was even more baffled by the fact that Melody so easily pulled away from him and ran to Chase. Getting her to fall for him wasn't going to be easy, especially when someone else already seemed to have her heart. He needed to find a way to convince her parents, and by default her, that he was the prince for their daughter. "I hope that if you need anything, princess, you know you can find and talk to me. " Richard smiled politely and walked away, a scowl forming on his face the second he was past the pair.

Chase let out a sigh of relief when Richard left and hugged Melody. "Wanna go to your spot?" Melody nodded, feeling the burning sensation growing in her throat. She loved that Chase knew exactly where she wanted to go and was glad that she didn't have to go alone like she believed she would have needed to before. She followed Chase's lead, leaning into him for support and making sure to hide her face from others in order to avoid questions.

When they reached the spot, Chase sat down in the sand and helped Melody sit down as well. Instinctively she turned into him and began to cry. He held onto her tight, not telling her to calm down or to breathe because he understood that she needed to mourn. He wished someone had treated him like this with the deaths that he had gone through but now was not the time to think about that. Now was the time to make sure Melody had a solid shoulder to cry on. "Let it all out, Mel. I'm here, it's just us."

Except it wasn't. From not too far away, in an area where Chase and Melody could not see, a young woman floated behind a rock in the water. She watched Melody and Chase's interaction closely. She watched as Melody clung to him tighter when the sobs came back stronger after beginning to die off. She watched as Chase left his lips on her forehead and whispered things to Melody which the young woman could not hear. She watched and wondered what it would be like when it was finally her turn for treatment like that from Chase. But that was a long while away; or at least it felt like it. Regardless, it would happen. One day Chase and she would be together, the perfect match to rule the entire ocean together.

A/N: Okay, wow, it has been far too long but I have _finally_ got my thoughts somewhat together on how this story is going to play out. I may seem to have a lot on my plate in regards to Richard and now this young woman but I know I can handle it. Hopefully you guys trust me.

~Maryanne


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Festivities were called off for the week and postponed as the royal family recollected themselves. Carlotta and the other maids worked together to find all of the black dresses that they could for both Melody and Ariel to wear in their time of mourning. Melody needed some made merely because the last time she had been forced into mourning she was much younger and not all of Ariel's would fit her. Getting fitted for the dresses was a chore for her. Holding her arms out for a minute, moving slightly this way and that on a pedestal, slipping on shoes she didn't even know she owned in order to gain the proper length. All the while she stood silently, blocking out the attempts at conversation that the seamstresses tried. Instead her mind remained blank and her heart remained heavy. She remained separated from her parents in a selfish effort to avoid seeing them in pain. Melody knew her father would be handling the loss of Grimsby the worst. After all, he had just lost the father figure he had known the longest, even longer than he had known his own father.

A knock on the door indicated to Melody that she needed to be ready to go soon. The funeral began in about thirty minutes but Melody had been unable to force herself to get in her dress. Slowly she stood up to go answer the door, still in her pajamas. Chase stood on the other side in a newly tailored suit, black in agreement with everyone else's outfits. He played nervously with the buttons on his jacket, not used to wearing something this heavy. When she opened the door, Chase frowned at Melody. "Mel, I know you don't want to do this," he said softly, "and I'm sure that no one here wants to but you need to get dressed." Chase let himself in and began to go through her closet. "Is your mom making you wear the thing on your head that covers your face?"

Silently Melody went to her dresser and lifted up the veil that was on it. She set it back down and threw her pajamas to the side before stepping in her dress. Chase walked over and helped lace up the dress the best he could, following the quiet whispers of instructions from Melody. When she turned around he placed the veil on her head to match the way he had seen Ariel wearing it before. Quickly Melody pushed her hair back into a ponytail, not caring at this point in time about how she looked. Her shoes slipped on easily and when she was ready she finally made eye contact with Chase. He gave her the best smile that he could muster, hoping that in some way his smile could ease her pain. Instead it just brought tears to her eyes again and a burn to her throat.

Since the day that Grimsby had finally been pronounced dead by doctors, only after a day of remaining in medical care with the smallest of a pulse that finally ran out, Melody had only spoken to Chase. Other people had surrounded her but they were people who had no idea of the amount of pain she was feeling, aside from perhaps Carlotta. All of the guests had retreated to either the guest portion of the castle or to their ships in the harbor. Out of respect, some had even returned to their homes in order to allow the family time to mourn properly. All the while, Melody had remained closed off. The last time she had truly spoken to Chase was when he held her on the beach as she cried. Looking at him now only reminded her of the tears she had let out that day. Though she had isolated herself, Melody had been lonely. She had not sought out help or comfort from anyone and no one thought to offer it because they figured she wanted to be alone. Chase had been advised against it although at the second he saw the tears he cursed himself for not finding her sooner.

Taking her hand, Chase kindly said, "C'mon, let's go. I'll be here with you, don't worry." Melody stayed close to him for support. He quickly was becoming her stronghold, the one thing keeping her together. In her grief and quiet existence aside from Chase in the past few days, Melody had not recognized that those around them were noticing how she and Chase acted around each other. It was clear to many guests and servants that the pair had something special. Those who knew of Chase's true home questioned the ability of the couple to work out in the end. Would they split time between kingdoms? Would Melody continue to rule on land and Chase in the sea, only seeing each other every couple of months? The arrangement seemed nearly impossible, but imagining the two apart, especially when pushed together under the circumstances of a death, was an even more unlikely outcome.

* * *

Richard cursed under his breath when he heard the news that Melody and Jace, or whatever his name was, were sitting close together in the pews of the castle church. The old man croaking had taken away from his time with the princess and had only pushed her further into the arms of the mystery boy. No one seemed to know where he had come from, and he certainly wasn't a prince by a longshot. Constantly looking disheveled, an often times crass attitude, and then the weird action of speaking to animals which he seemed to partake in quite often. He truly couldn't be more than just a bump in the road for Richard, a mere pawn that he needed to knock out of the way. Melody was the only princess for him. She _needed_ to be his queen. As the eldest he could not have the ugliest of wives compared to his brothers, and upon seeing Melody in person he knew she was superior to the rest.

While sitting in his room on his ship, picking at his fingernails, Richard heard a moderate knock on the door. He informed the individual that the door was open and that they were welcome to come in. When he redirected his attention to the guest, he was greeted by a young woman, no more than twenty years of age. She was short and slightly stout with thin lips and extremely thick dark hair. She was frumpy to say the least, a hideous beast compared to Melody in Richard's eyes. She wobbled when walking in and finally seated herself, sounding out of breath.

"And to whom do I owe the pleasure…?" Richard asked, eyeing the woman up and down. How she had managed to get her way to his room was a mystery. Had all of the guards and other men on the ship just ignored her and let her through? He was the most important person on the ship so for someone new and so off-putting to manage her way to his room was a shock to Richard.

"M-My name is Laila," she said, voice shaking. "And I know that you are Richard, eldest son and heir to a throne. I also know that you and I have something in common." Laila paused while Richard scoffed, clearly unable to understand how close their situations truly were. When his gaze focused on her again, she continued. "You wish to be wed to Princess Melody, correct?" A slow nod on Richard's part was given as his response. "And I wish to be wed to Chase. I know I am not of the same class or beauty or truly anything of Princess Melody's, but I believe I have a way to help us both get who we want…"

Richard was sitting up straight now from his previously hunched over position. He was a skeptic about mostly everything and from what this woman was saying it sounded as though she were implying something he should have been skeptical about. Yet at the thought of obtaining what he wanted, Richard pushed those thoughts to the side. A life with Melody might be right in his grasp. "Go on."

Laila smiled, relieved that he was listening to her. "To make a long story short, I propose we make them forget about one another, or at least forget any romantic feelings that were ever between them. Chase is not royalty," she continued, although she knew it was a lie, "and therefore would be unlikely to attempt a romantic relationship with a princess. If he ever decided to become bolder about it, you would already be by Melody's side as her loving husband and king." She hoped she was making sense and from the look of complete glee on Richard's face, she was. He asked how she planned to execute her idea to which she pulled out two tea bags, both filled with dried out and crushed autumn squill petals along with simple flavorings to suit the taste of each individual, cinnamon for Melody and mint for Chase.

"We just need to set them up for a tea party…" Laila began.

* * *

A/N: It has been AGES, and I know you're all probably so mad at me. However, I finally figured out where I am going with this story as I got lost with it before. Hopefully you can all forgive me and enjoy what's going on. Love you all 3


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